UPPL chief predicts sweep in BTC polls, dismisses Congress, BPF as 'spent force'

Kokrajhar, August 17: With the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections round the corner, Bodoland Chief and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) president Pramod Boro has exuded confidence that his party will emerge as the single largest force, dismissing both the Congress and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) as political spent forces in the region.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, Boro said the Congress had “long abandoned” the Bodoland region and no longer enjoyed visibility or organisational strength in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

“It seems the Congress doesn’t even want to form a government here. Their campaigns are weak and their organisation is not strong in BTR,” he said.

Boro was equally dismissive of the BPF, predicting the party would only manage “single digits” this election.

“The BPF’s primary flaw is that their leader, Hagrama Mohilary. He hasn’t even attended the Assembly in the past five years. If a leader doesn’t speak in the Assembly, how will people know the party’s agenda or vision?” he remarked.

Positioning the UPPL as the frontrunner, Boro said his party has built a strong network of campaign teams, bolstered by senior leaders.

“We will get the numbers required to form the next council. We are confident of leading the government again,” he asserted.

Alongside political claims, Boro sought to showcase his government’s development record, pointing to rapid infrastructure projects across the BTR.

Of the Rs 260 crore infrastructure grant sanctioned this year, Rs 117 crore has already been utilised in Kokrajhar alone.

“From a Rs 110-crore stadium to space labs in schools, cinema halls, guest houses, hostels, and cultural centres—we are building BTR at neck-break speed,” he said.

He highlighted the laying of foundation stones for a Rs 1-crore law college extension, a Rs 60-lakh Satra building, a Rs 1.5-crore mini stadium at Gosaigaon, and a Rs 25-lakh cultural centre at Ramphal Beel, besides work on a Rs 250-crore rail wagon factory at Basbari.

The BTR Chief also inaugurated the headquarters and auditorium of the BTR Keot Jatiya Parishad in Tamulpur, pledging to build infrastructure, museums, and welfare programmes for indigenous communities under the Bodoland Happiness Mission.

“We want to preserve every the ethnicity of the 26 communities inhabiting the so that none disappear from the face of the earth,” Boro said.

With development as its poll plank, the UPPL chief declared the council elections would decisively tilt in his party’s favour.